Federal Climate Actions
The Georgetown Climate Center strives to strengthen state-federal partnerships and to maximize efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop the clean energy economy at all levels of government. The Center works closely with federal officials and informs stakeholders about the potential effect of federal actions on state revenue and programs. As part of that effort, the Center tracks and analyzes federal climate legislation and regulation.
News and Updates
On November 29, EPA issued a final rule for GHG reporting, including a six-month extension for several industrial sectors that were previously scheduled to begin mandatory reporting on March 31, 2012. The move extends that deadline to Sept. 28, 2012, for facilities that include petroleum and natural gas systems, electronics manufacturing, industrial waste landfills, coal mining, industrial wastewater treatment and other installations. The August 4 proposed rule would also have required some industrial facilities to report twice, once for sources of...
On Nov. 21, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will not meet a December 15, 2011, deadline to issue new regulations under the Clean Air Act limiting greenhouse gas emissions from oil refineries. The deadline was imposed as part of a settlement agreement with several states and environmental groups in December 2010. The agency says it needs more time to prepare new source performance standards and is in negotiations to set a new deadline.
This announcement comes after a recent EPA decision to delay the release of its greenhouse...
On November 9, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed S. 1813, “Moving Head for Progress in the 21st Century Act,” or “MAP-21” (Boxer, D-CA), a two-year surface transportation bill that will allow greater flexibility for state spending and tighter accountability measures for state Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO).
MAP-21 will maintain current baseline surface transportation spending, plus inflation, for two years. The EPW committee’s portion of the bill covers the “highways” section, while the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is...
EPA will delay proposed greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for model year 2017-2025 cars and light trucks until mid-November, according to press reports. The agency had originally aimed to issue the proposed rule by Sept. 30. EPA is working on the standards jointly with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
EPA cited the difficulty of coordinating with stakeholders for the delay:"We have worked closely with all key stakeholders including the car companies, the state of California, and others as we move toward releasing the proposed rule," NHTSA spokeswoman Lynda Tran said in an email.
"Given the historic nature of this joint rule between EPA and DOT, as well as the necessary...
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed the release of its greenhouse-gas (GHG) performance standards for power plants, previously scheduled for September 30 (after a postponement of the original July 26 deadline earlier this year). EPA plans to issue a new release schedule soon.
The move comes amid intense pushback from business groups and...
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI) on July 29, 2011, announcing plans to require vehicles to achieve an average 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg), or 163 grams per mile of CO2, on a fleet-wide basis in model year (MY) 2025. (76 Fed. Reg. 48,758). The standards, which would apply to model year 2017-2025 light duty vehicles, are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately two billion metric tons and save four billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of MY 2017-2025 vehicles.
The announcement was accompanied by...
On July 6, 2011, EPA released its final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), also referred to as the “Transport Rule.” CSAPR establishes an allowance trading system to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) air pollutants from power plants in 27 upwind, eastern states that adversely affect efforts of other states to achieve or maintain EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). (76 Fed. Reg. 48,208). Together with several other recent or proposed EPA regulations of conventional air pollutants, the rule is projected to result in reductions of greenhouse gases from the power sector by accelerating retirements of older, inefficient coal-...
